Daenerys Targaryen
In the story, Daenerys is a young woman in her early teens living in Essos. Knowing no other life than one of exile, she remains dependent on her abusive older brother, Viserys. She is forced to marry Dothraki horselord Khal Drogo in exchange for an army for Viserys, who is to return to Westeros and recapture the Iron Throne. Her brother loses the ability to control her as Daenerys finds herself adapting to life with the khalasar and emerges as strong, confident and courageous. She becomes the heir of the Targaryen dynasty after her brother's murder and plans to reclaim the Iron Throne herself, seeing it as her birthright. A pregnant Daenerys loses her husband and child, but soon helps hatch three dragons from their eggs, which regard her as their mother, providing her with a tactical advantage and prestige. Over time, she struggles to maintain control of her dragons. She also acquires an army with which she conquers the cities of Yunkai, Astapor and Meereen, determined to end slavery and injustice there. Despite her strong moral compass, she is capable of dealing ruthlessly with her enemies, particularly the slave masters. She establishes herself as a powerful and relentless ruler. History A Game of Thrones In A Game of Thrones (1996), Daenerys is sold off by her brother Viserys and Illyrio Mopatis to marry Khal Drogo, a Dothraki warlord, in exchange for an army for Viserys.6 At that time, Daenerys befriends Jorah Mormont, an exiled Westerosi knight, and is given three petrified dragon eggs as a wedding gift. Although initially terrified of Drogo, Daenerys' and his marriage turns out to be a happy one, and Daenerys grows to love him and to take to Dothraki customs, finding strength and determination for the first time. This leads her to stand up to Viserys' attempts to bully her into coercing Drogo. After Drogo kills Viserys by pouring molten gold atop his head for threatening his wife, Daenerys sees herself as the heir to the Targaryen dynasty, and responsible for reclaiming the throne for her family. Shortly thereafter, Drogo is wounded in a fight, and the cut festers. With Drogo ill, his warriors mutiny and abandon him. In desperation, Daenerys recruits an enslaved Lhazareen priestess, Mirri Maz Duur, to save Drogo with blood magic. However, despite being saved by Daenerys from being raped by the tribe's warriors, the priestess betrays her trust, and the magic ritual leads to Daenerys' unborn child being stillborn and leaves Drogo in a catatonic state. Daenerys does not want her husband to suffer any longer and euthanizes him with a pillow. She burns the priestess in Drogo's funeral pyre and climbs into the flame with her three dragon eggs. When the pyre dies out the following morning, Daenerys emerges alive and unburnt from the ashes with three hatched dragons. A Clash of Kings Leading the remnants of Drogo's khalasar through the Red Waste, Daenerys arrives in the city of Qarth. There, she begins appealing to the rulers of the city for aid in reclaiming the Iron Throne and meets little success. She eventually accepts an invitation from a group of warlocks to discover her future. At the warlocks' temple, the House of the Undying, Daenerys drinks a magical potion and enters the temple. Inside, she sees several visions and manages to resist the temptations. When she enters the final hall and meets the real Undyings, she is told prophecies about her destiny as the "child of three" who will experience "three fires must you light", "three mounts must you ride", and "three treasons will you know"; they also tell her she is the "daughter of death", the "slayer of lies", and the "bride of fire". When the Undyings attack Daenerys and intend to hold her prisoner, her dragon Drogon kills them and burns down the whole temple, allowing Daenerys to escape. Before departing Qarth, Daenerys is nearly assassinated with a venomous manticore but is saved by Arstan Whitebeard, who is sent by Illyrio Morpatis, along with the eunuch ex-gladiator called Strong Belwas and three ships to take Daenerys back to Pentos. A Storm of Swords Seeking an army, Daenerys sails to Astapor in Slaver's Bay to purchase an army of The Unsullied slave soldiers, in exchange for a dragon, but she betrays the slavers and uses the Unsullied to sack the city. She later conquers the city of Yunkai and gains the service of Daario Naharis, who commands a large mercenary company. As she marches on Meereen, Daenerys learns that one of her companions is actually Barristan Selmy, a knight of Robert the Usurper's Kingsguard, and that Jorah had spied on her earlier. Disgusted, she sends the pair on a suicide mission to capture Meereen. When the mission is successful, Barristan asks to be forgiven for his deception, but Jorah refuses to ask forgiveness, so Daenerys banishes him. Unwilling to abandon the slaves she freed, fearing they would return to bondage, Dany decides to stay in Meereen. A Dance with Dragons Throughout A Dance with Dragons (2011), Daenerys struggles to maintain order in the city in the face of growing unrest as well as the chaos she left behind in the other cities she conquered. Furthermore, Yunkai has rebelled and is gathering forces to besiege Meereen. When Drogon kills a child, Daenerys feels compelled to chain her dragons Rhaegal and Viserion, but Drogon escapes. Her advisers suggest she marry Hizdahr zo Loraq to bring peace, and she agrees, although she takes Daario as a lover. Hizdahr successfully negotiates an end to the violence, so she marries him. At her wedding feast, the blood and noise of the fighting pits attract Drogon, who is immediately attacked. Daenerys's attempt to control her dragon fails initially, but she eventually flies off with him. After several days in Drogon's lair, she falls ill after eating some berries and begins to hallucinate. She is later found by Khal Jhaqo, formerly a captain of her Khalasar who betrayed her late husband. =